We made a royal mess in the kitchen this morning. This is what happens when I up and make waffles, forsaking my usual cold cereal fare. I know, I know, kids need a hot breakfast. But do they need a breakfast of leaden, bulletproof dough? It seems that they do not.
I found what appeared to be a Tupperware container of waffle mix and I used the directions off of a new box of mix. I'm opposed to wasting. The mystery substance passed the sniff-test, the texture-test, the take-a-close-look test and even the teeny-tiny-taste test. Alas, something was amiss. The initial batch of waffles appeared to be cast from plaster of Paris. In typical fashion, Calvin told me he would eat them anyway. I didn't take him up on his offer.
We tossed the whole thing down the sink and I have to admit, I was thinking "Two and 2/3 cups of milk, down the drain! Two eggs, long gone!"
This comes on the heels of a pot of broccoli cheese soup that I made yesterday. 9 cups of chicken stock and 9 cups of milk? How much does this recipe make?? Oh, it serves 18! Fantastic.
My New Year's resolution is to read the recipe closely and in full before I begin bustling about.
My word for the year is PayattentionEtheloryou'llbeeatingbroccolisoupuntilthedayyoudie.
Round II of Waffle Mania went off without a hitch, using the recipe and the mix from the very same box.
So, the kitchen is clean and we've hit that magical part of the morning where the sun peers in and I make the rounds, turning off the lights that glowed during our earlier, gloomier hours.
It's play time.
Ruby is in her silver micro-mini (from the dress-up box). She's practicing "headstands" and pulling Siley around the house in a 6-foot nylon tunnel.
Calvin is Lego-ing and talking to my parents on the phone.
Pretty soon, our daily art sesh will commence.
Their styles couldn't possibly be more different.
Siley clamors for markers but eventually settles for a crayon, though not until after he's peeled it clean.
He scribbles around for a while and brings me the cutest 2-year old masterpiece. Then, he's climbing on the table again, plotting his take-down of the marker bunker.
Calvin works with diligence.
He crafts his vision carefully.
His preferred topics include oceanography, architecture and transportation of various forms.
(Please note the Clown Fish here. He was quite proud of the Clown Fish.)
Then we have our resident tortured artist.
Who knows what bee may have crept into her bonnet on this day.
Who could guess what might get stuck in her craw today.
It is an abiding mystery.
Who could guess what might get stuck in her craw today.
It is an abiding mystery.
Eventually she'll shake it off and set to work.
And the outcome is generally something along these lines.
Scary, right?
These are the days of our lives. They aren't fancy or exciting, but they're toasty and loud, messy and slow.
Happy Wednesday, Homies.
Those drawing are adorable. Sounds like your morning got off to a little bit of a rough start, but any morning that ends in waffles is still a good morning right?
ReplyDeleteI need to start reading recipes all the way through as well. Last week I ended up with potato salad for 16 and there are only two of us - I hate wasted food but there is only so much potato salad a girl can eat!
Wow you are singing my song of yesterday's morn with oatmeal pancakes (:
ReplyDeletelovely artwork... makes me smile..scary or not (:
And a happy Wednesday to you and yours.
blessings, b
Well my little sassafras girl is sitting right next to me drawing. She saw the pics of Ruby's pics come up and said, "Oooooh Mommy, can you help me do some like that?!" So apparently her art? It translates.
ReplyDeleteYour word for the year...I love it.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful drawings! I love Calvin's fish! :) And I don't know what it is, but I have been totally messing up all of my recipes lately, too! I need to take up your word for the year! :)
ReplyDeleteI love waffles! Calvin is the man for offering to eat your first batch. I adore Ruby, I just can't help it. I was hoping to see her micro mini. Silas is cute just being Silas.
ReplyDeleteFun and funny! As Anne would say...I think we may be kindred spirits. For real.
ReplyDeleteOh I love you. Loved the Days shout-out, and just in case you were actually trying to quote, your resident Days historian would like to point out that Macdonald Carey's (for yes, I know his name by heart) patriarchal voice actually started with, "Like sands through the hourglass..."
ReplyDelete:) Love you and your little artists! :)
Oh, how you make me laugh.
ReplyDeleteMy 23 year old daughter shares the same fault, she is not a very good recipe reader/follower so baking isn't her strong suit.
Love all of the artwork... one of the things I miss about young children.
Chris
PS love the glowing tree lights behind Ruby...
So fun and what a big happy joyful mess of life it is when your little ones are home coloring at the kitchen table. I love your photography Shannan....the expressions that you capture on your kids's faces....they're just priceless!
ReplyDeleteI think your days sound fantastic. I've had a similar mishap with pancakes - I chose to blame mine on gremlins.
ReplyDeleteI've been freezing a lot of soup leftovers. Hubby likes to take it in his lunch - so I freeze it in small containers and then thaw it the night before. That way we're not eating the same soup for 5 days in a row.
That is exactly what I do anytime a recipe does not pan out...count the ingredients that are wasted. It KILLS me!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your broccoli soup! ha!
L and i watercolored yesterday, and for whatever reason she began with a great deal of angst and tears, so these pics of ruby had me grinning.
ReplyDelete:)
we cut out all different colors of play dough with our ABC letters...and then the kids begged to bake them.
ReplyDeleteand so are the days of OUR lives.
Love their different little styles and approaches. My friend has a daughter who has the same look as your Ruby when making art. She got really angry and upset one day when drawing with her big sister and my friend was frustrated and confused. Finally, little Lucy confessed everything she can't get anything that is in her brain on paper so she felt awful, like she couldn't do it. Tortured artist, indeed. They worked through it and she's gaining confidence with "mistakes." So interesting to watch it all unfold.
ReplyDeleteCalvins fish have the same smile he does! Cute...
ReplyDeleteand atleast Ruby isn't drawing "Grumpy Grandma Monsters" like my little guy does! Yep, I look like SpongeBob with sock teeth...
I'm trying to smile more when he comes to visit!
Tisha
Love the artwork...we've got an artist with a similar style at our house. And she likes to punch holes in her pics, tie yarn through and make us wear them as name tags-just in case she forgets who we are!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes-I'm a Dayton area girl. And no, we've not discussed. Perhaps we should...
Calvin's quite the artist. I must start making time for art with my little guy - love seeing what they come up with!
ReplyDeleteAnd on the recipes? I've been known to leave out the main ingredients in dishes - so for broccoli soup, yep - I would have forgotten the broccoli.
I think art is one of the funniest things to watch a kid create. You can actually see their minds working as what is inside tries to make its way out. i have learned to say a leading statement so that my girls will fill in the blank to tell me what they created, like, " Oh WOW this is the best.....daughter inserts word to spare mother embarrassment!..I have ever seen!
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures all around!
those are some mighty sweet days my friend,
ReplyDeletemarkers , bees in bonnets, massive amounts brocoli soup. i love it all
xo
Came over to read the
ReplyDeleteEdie links but was side-
tracked by today's post.
You are truly enjoying
the journey!! I love love
your photos....
xx Suzanne
PS: Trader Joe's Multi-grain
frozen waffles. I'm just saying...!
I just cherish u and your blog.Its so cool! i likewise had to throw out a recipe i stirred for Caramels with 2 can condensed milk, 1 can full of light karo syrup, 2# of br sugar and all the time i stirred and stirred til the cows come home. Poured it onto a cookie sheet to cool and went to wash thermometer and the bottom had dropped off sometime into caramellllllll mixture. Iyiyiyiy. Sadness
ReplyDeletelove it. i love the fish, too!
ReplyDeleteThat Clown Fish is rockin'.
ReplyDeleteEvery post you write is so full of adjectives and description...I can almost touch and smell your life. Isn't that strange for me to say? HA!
ReplyDeleteAnyway love the art sessions. My Mags opened a jar of mayo a while back and I discovered it a few hours later in the pantry. I immediately stuck it in the fridge, but with a note on top that mentioned it...so when we got around to eating it I would notice if it was funky...oh the things you do not to waste. Too bad about the waffles.
Happy Wednesday!
ReplyDeleteThese pictures are simply awesome!
ReplyDeleteHappy Wednesday, Farmgirl. Your artists are so cute! (I love the "tortured" one!)
ReplyDeleteI am never disappointed when I come to your blog. Your word of the year wins HANDS DOWN. Everyone else might as well quit posting all of their words because you have stolen all the glory.
ReplyDeleteps so are the days of our lives.
Ha! I love the waffle story and the soup fiasco. I usually get the whole thing going and then realize I am missing a key ingredient and I live 7 miles from town. Rats... pray my neighbor is home and better stocked than me. She usually accommodates. Last year she had a big 4th of July bash and then when it got going remembered she didn't get ketchup. Janie to the rescue- booyah!
ReplyDeleteLove your crafts, seems oddly familiar. Oh yeah, that is what my days look like!
Don't forget to save a few of those wonderful pics for later reference! I have such fun looking through my boys old artwork! My son used do draw people just like Ruby's! Hugs Traci
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I appreciate the lack of glue guns, coffee filters, and sequins on the art table. Paper, crayons, stickers... that's really all we need in life. I got a kick out of you saying that Sister Friend had a bee in her bonnet. My Granny used to say that back in the day.
ReplyDeleteCould you send me some insight about how you take care of Ruby's hair? I love it, and Sweet Potato Pie's hair may be quite similar from the looks of things.
What are you trying to do to me, Farmgirl? Those faces. Priceless. You'd think I'd be used to just how cute your kiddos are by now.
ReplyDeletep.s. Calvin's army drawing is hanging on J's wall.
I just clicked on this post so I could make fun of you for knowing the lead-in to that old soap opera. So glad I did. I have mad love for that tortured artist girl of yours. Always good to stop by for a visit and a smile.
ReplyDeleteThat Ruby! Cracks. Me. Up.
ReplyDeleteI read you every time you post, but I don't tell you often enough how talented I think you are. I get such a kick out of your writing.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Tracey
As soon as I read the title to your post I flashed back to the 80's and my mom watching that soap opera everyday..... Love Miss Ruby's drawings, Miss Emma draws her peeps just the same way :o)
ReplyDelete"resident tortured artist" so funny, her expression is priceless. your family is gorgeous.
ReplyDeletehappy new year!
Pretty sure I would enjoy reading you write on just about any subject in the world. Moved you to the top of my must read list today and I'm so glad I did. I rarely have time to catch up on all my faves so I have to "make time" for the really good stuff. Still getting to know you & all but our lives seem to be on pretty much the same path. My troubled artist is 5, his figures look shockingly similar. My diligent artist is 3 & would color all day if she could. Our bunker blaster is 1.5 and prefers to eat the markers rather than color with them but finds it rather satisfying to stop by someone else's artwork and add a great BIG signature of his own.
ReplyDeleteI love little kid artwork! Love it! It's so hard to not save every single piece. I'm glad you got a good batch of waffles. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna say it's a girl thing. Always having that tortured artist look is what my Claire does. Oh the drama. We put her to bed wearing snowflake jammies and I just went to check on her and she is now wearing her purple gymnastics leotard with purple and black striped tights over that and she is holding a ballet slipper! Why, because she is Claire! Our life isn't glamorous either but it sure isn't dull!
ReplyDeleteMegan
Thanks for loving being a mommy...you are GREAT!
ReplyDeleteShannon,
ReplyDeleteTreasure each step of this journey because one day all too soon there will be a fork in the road and they will be off blazing their own trail. I am loving Calvin's fish. I would mat and frame all these masterpieces. Look at the eyes on the tortured artist. Your babies are beautiful.
Deborah
I LOVE those little drawings...frame-able. My kids have made ones (I think they look like little monsters, but I don't want to insult our artists...they might be people?), and I just adore them.
ReplyDeleteI love your word of the year.
ReplyDeleteI can try to stamp that into a necklace, if you'd like. Ha!
Happy Wednesday to you! I have such fond memories of my three kids at home. Now they're all in school, the "baby" went to Kindergarten this year. I'm still a SAHM but it's pretty quiet here until 3pm. Those pictures are priceless as is your time at home with them. Best thing ever! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightful post! :) This made me smile. I just stumbled upon your blog and LOVE it! So beautiful and your writing is great! I will definitely return! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm coming to steal those little children in the night. You would think me saying that was creepy if you didn't know me, right? What's that? It's still creepy? My bad.
ReplyDeleteI wanna come have art day with you cuties. And make soup. And apparently there will be enough for me to bring home some leftovers.
it is the little joys!
ReplyDeletebut that makes life worth living.
the little things
♥
Those kids of yours are just too cute! I just want to kiss Ruby's adorable cheeks!
ReplyDeleteI have a blog I wanted to share with you. Some friends of ours have adopted from Russia and are right now on their way back to Russia to pick up child number 3. Her writing is very fun to read - she keeps you entertained! And I know her adoption stories would be interesting to you! So when you have time check out http://familyofadoptees.blogspot.com/ It will be worth your time!!
I only ask because I am a blunt...and jealous of your daling babies!! Do you ever think of shave'n between the little mans brows?
ReplyDeleteHEY NEW FRIEND... I JUST READ THIS POST. ;)
ReplyDeleteWHAT A GOOD MOM YOU ARE. REALLY!!!
I AM REMEMBERING BACK WHEN OUR DAUGHTER,WHO IS NOW 16 WAS A LITTLE GIRL. SHE WAS SO VERY HAPPY, FUN, AND GENERALLY A SWEETIE PIE. BUT I STARTED TO NOTICE SHE TOO WOULD HAVE DAYS, MORNINGS WHEN SHE WASN'T HER HAPPY SELF. SOMETIMES, IT WAS JUST OVERTIREDNESS. BUT WHEN I STARTED TO KEEP TRACK, I NOTICED SHE WOULD HAVE THOSE LITTLE GRUMPY DAYS AROUND THE SAME TIME EVERY MONTH. NO KIDDING. SHE WAS FINE AND ALL, AND NORMAL IN ALL WAYS. SHE IS THE YOUNGEST OF THREE BROTHERS SO I HAVING A GIRL... ALL NEW TO ME. I WAS A STAY AT HOME MOM, AND SO I KNEW MY PEEPS WELL. I REALLY FEEL SHE WAS AT A YOUNG AGE, SHE TOO WAS JUST A BIT PMSING... I NEVER TOLD HER OR MADE A BIG DEAL OUT OF IT. JUST TRIED TO BE AWARE AND MAYBE BE A LITTLE KINDER, GENTLER, AND GIVE HER SOME SPACE. SHE IS NOW A TYPICAL 16 YEAR OLD GIRL, AND HAVING HER FOR A DAUGHTER HAS BEEN, WELL... SUCH A DAILY JOY. ANYWHO... JUST THOUGHT I'D SHARE
HUGS FROM MY HEART
http://sophiemyfriend.blogspot.com/